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Eclipse/Chapter 5
Chapter description Jaypaw's PoV :Jaypaw walks out of the den while Leafpool and Cloudtail are sharing a mouse and goes to the fresh-kill pile. He notes that the hunting patrols have already stocked up the pile before it was sunhigh. As he grabs a shrew out of the pile, he remembers the image of Cinderpelt starving in the old camp. He wonders if Leafpool is thinking of her old mentor while she's eating with Cloudtail. :Graystripe runs across the clearing and tells Jaypaw to hurry up, saying he was going on a hunting patrol. The blind tom is excited at the thought of hunting, but the gray warrior tells him that he, Sorreltail, and Mousewhisker will be hunting while Jaypaw looks for herbs. The medicine cat apprentice doesn't feel very hungry anymore and he puts the shrew back into the pile, telling Graystripe that he'll eat after they get back. :Graystripe announces that they're going down to the lake, and Jaypaw is now excited, thinking about the stick and what mysteries it may hold. He agrees to go, meowing it would be good to get out and stretch his legs. Graystripe turns to the patrol and joins them, and Jaypaw follows the senior warrior. Sorreltail and Mousewhisker impatiently pace around the clearing, and when the patrol is together, they run out into the forest. Mousewhisker comments many things to Jaypaw with excitement, such as wanting to catch a squirrel. :Jaypaw notices it is a hot day as Mousewhisker runs off with Graystripe following him. Sorreltail mentions that she wishes it could be greenleaf all the time, brushing her pelt against Jaypaw's to guide him. The blind tom agrees, but draws away from her, not needing to be guided through this part of the forest. He runs a bit faster, and Sorreltail calls to him to slow down. They catch up with Mousewhisker and Graystripe on the rise, where the forest ends and opens up to the grassland that leads to the lake. Mousewhisker is panting, out of breath, and Graystripe informs them that the young warrior had almost caught a squirrel, but informs the patrol that it scooted up a tree before the warrior could catch it. Mousewhisker blames it on a blackbird's alarm call, and Graystripe tries comforting him, meowing he'll get the next one. Sorreltail says she can't wait until she can go hunting with Honeypaw, Poppypaw, and Cinderpaw. She mentions that they'll be having their assessment soon, but Jaypaw begins wondering if Cinderpaw is actually ready, doubting that his mentor, Leafpool is correct about her leg having fully healed. :Mousewhisker adds that it will be great to have them in the warriors' den, mewing that it might stop all the old warriors from hogging the best nests and stealing all the softest moss. Sorretail and Graystripe tease him, and the she-cat teases that Thornclaw and Dustpelt will be pleased to hear that. Mousewhisker questions in alarm if she will tell them, and Sorretail calls that she won't. She notes that after Millie's kits are born, Graystripe will feel even younger as she darts down the slope. Jaypaw hurries after her, and after they reach the shore, Graystripe asks if it's a good place for herbs. Jaypaw nods, commenting that he can get mallow by the water. Sorretail says that Mousewhisker can help him, who protests about his squirrel until Graystripe cuts him off, meowing that his prey could wait. Mousewhisker reluctantly agrees, but then brightens as he thinks that if they're near water, he might catch a fish. Jaypaw doubts it, and privately thinks that unless he's had a RiverClan mentor, he won't catch anything from the water. :As they head towards the lake, Mousewhisker comments that the lake is smooth as a laurel leaf, and then asks Jaypaw what mallow looks like, forgetting that he's blind. The medicine cat apprentice shrugs, and replies that he hasn't ever seen any. Mousewhisker squeaks in dismay that he's sorry, but Jaypaw brushes him off, knowing it was a slip. The blind tom sniffs the air, and a sweet smell fills his nose as he points to the water's edge, saying that that's mallow. Mousewhisker seems impressed, but Jaypaw doesn't reply. He asks the young warrior if he can gather as much mallow as he can, stating that there was something further up the shore that he wanted to check. Mousewhisker hurries down to the water, and Jaypaw veers away from him. :He pads to the treeline, and sniffs around the gnarled bark until he finds the stick. The medicine cat apprentice takes it out and relief floods his paw as they feel the smoothness of exposed wood, confirming that it is the right stick. Jaypaw wonders about the truth about the stick, and knows it is linked mysteriously to the Ancients. He doesn't know which Clan or Tribe had used these tunnels to test apprentices to become warriors. Jaypaw wonders if this meant that all the Clans and Tribes were somehow linked together. :Mousewhisker splashes towards him, reeking of mallow as he approaches Jaypaw, who shoved the stick where it was. The warrior asks him what he was doing, and he quickly replies that he was checking something. Mousewhisker spits the leaves onto the ground and asks if he was checking a stick. Jaypaw lies that it wasn't important, just medicine cat stuff that he would never understand. He braces for a flurry of questions, but to his surprise, Mousewhisker simply begins to scrape the leaves into a pile and replies that he was glad to be a warrior, his mew muffled as he gathered the leaves back into a pile. :Graystripe calls from the bank if Mousewhisker caught his fish, and Mousewhisker, spraying Jaypaw again with leaves, calls that he didn't, but he'd caught some mallow. Jaypaw stifles a frustrated hiss and collects the dropped leaves, following the young warrior onto the bank once he finishes. His belly rumbles as he smells the mice the patrol caught. Sorreltail, sensing Jaypaw's hunger, mews that they should get back to camp. She darts up the grassy hillside, and back towards the forest. As they begin to head home, Jaypaw halts, scenting a ThunderClan patrol heading towards them. A moment later, Jaypaw hears Thornclaw and his apprentice, Poppypaw, crash through the undergrowth with Brightheart and Birchfall close behind. They burst out of the bushes onto the ridge, and Brightheart bursts out that WindClan crossed the border. Graystripe drops his mouse and asks them if they were in their territory. Thornclaw growls that they weren't, but the scents were fresh, and they've been hunting their territory again. The gray warrior questions if they remarked the borders, and Birchfall replies that they did. Graystripe, scraping the ground with his claws, says that they need to report this to Firestar. :As the two patrols enter the camp, Cloudtail asks sleepily where Brightheart is going. His mate promises that she will be right back as she scrambles up the Highledge after Thornclaw. Mousewhisker drops his pile of mallow leaves and asks Jaypaw if he can tell Hazeltail and Berrynose what happened. Jaypaw nods and lets him hurry away and tell his littermates. The medicine cat apprentice drops his own mouthful of leaves and begins to bundle them together, readying to take them to the medicine cat den. Hollypaw pads towards him and queries if she can help, and Jaypaw, sick of the taste of mallow, agrees. His sister asks what the fuss was about, and the blind tom says that WindClan crossed the border. The black she-cat's pelt bristles, thinking that they surely wouldn't after they saved the kits from the tunnels. Jaypaw braces himself from a speech about how true warriors respected borders, but it surprises him to find something else on her mind. :Hollypaw says that Cinderpaw told her that her assessment is tomorrow, and Jaypaw asks if she's complained about her leg hurting. The black she-cat asks what the matter was, and notes that she thought that Cinderpaw was better. Jaypaw nods, saying that Leafpool said she was. Hollypaw sighs, commenting that she wishes she could watch her assessment. An idea sparks in Jaypaw's mind, and he asks her why they can't, just to make sure that she is alright. His littermate gasps, stating that it isn't allowed, but Jaypaw retorts that it isn't explicitly part of the warrior code. Lionpaw pads up behind Hollypaw, inquiring what the two were meowing about. Hollypaw explains that they are going to watch Cinderpaw's assessment tomorrow, and Lionpaw echoes his sister, wondering if it was allowed. Jaypaw doubts it, but he comments that he isn't planning to announce it to the whole Clan. Lionpaw agrees to watch, and Hollypaw mews that if anyone caught them, they could say that they were trying to get some tips before their assessment. :The next day, Jaypaw wakes up to the sound of birds chittering in the trees. He starts to leave the den, but Leafpool inquires where he is going. The apprentice lies and says he left some leaves behind yesterday, and assures Leafpool that he can find them by himself. He pads out of the den, and out through the thorn tunnel. Brightheart is guarding the entrance and stops Jaypaw, questioning where he is going so early in the morning. The blind tom hastily replies that he is fetching herbs for Leafpool, and that he is fine by himself. Jaypaw smells the scent of the dirtplace, and Hollypaw and Lionpaw crawl out from beneath a bush. They explain that they couldn't think of a different reason to leave camp, so they'd had to leave that way. :Lionpaw and Hollypaw both roll in mushrooms to hide their scent, at Jaypaw's recommendation. Lionpaw comments that poor Cinderpaw will think she's being stalked by toadstools. Jaypaw scents Thornclaw, Sandstorm, and Cloudtail, so he whispers to his littermates to keep quiet. The mentors reassure their apprentices, meowing that they are not competing against each other, only themselves. Sandstorm tells them they are not to help each other, then lets them start their assessment. Jaypaw, Hollypaw, and Lionpaw freeze as Poppypaw passes by the bush they crouch under, but she doesn't notice them. :They follow Cinderpaw as she catches a scent, and heads down a slope. Jaypaw recognizes the scent Cinderpaw is after: a squirrel. Lionpaw almost runs into Cinderpaw, but manages to dart out of the way. Hollypaw reports that she's following the prey, and Lionpaw tells Jaypaw that the squirrel is fleeing, but hasn't started to climb yet. Hollypaw exclaims that she made such a great leap, but her voice abruptly its off. :Jaypaw asks what's the matter, and Hollypaw shrieks that she mistimed the jump and has crashed on top of the fallen tree. Jaypaw claws his way up the trunk of the tree, and presses his muzzle to Cinderpaw's injured leg. Cloudtail asks if she's hurt, and his apprentice croaks that it just buckled as she jumped. Jaypaw says that she needs to get back to camp, and he sends Hollypaw up ahead to warn Leafpool. Cloudtail instructs Lionpaw to make sure her injured leg doesn't touch anything while he carries her to camp. :The group enters camp with Cinderpaw limping on three paws, but supported on both sides. Cinderpaw is angry that her leg gave way, because she doesn't want Honeypaw and Poppypaw to go to the warriors' den without her. Leafpool soothes her that she knows she's upset, and tries to make her more comfortable. She tells Cloudtail that the muscles are wrenched, and they will heal with rest. Cinderpaw asks Leafpool repeatedly why her leg gave way, and if she'll ever be able to become a warrior. Leafpool says to the she-cat that she'll be fine, and gives her a poultice. She then turns to Jaypaw, surprised, and comments that she'd thought he'd left with the others. :He tells her he'd never leave when they had a patient, and also mews that Leafpool shouldn't have told Cloudtail that she was ready for her final assessment. Jaypaw reminds his mentor that even though she wants Cinderpaw to be a warrior as soon as possible, she also doesn't want her to suffer the same fate as Cinderpelt. Leafpool demands to know what's wrong with that, and says that not being able to be a warrior broke Cinderpelt's heart. Jaypaw tells Leafpool that she's obsessed with the past, and notes that she just wants everything to turn out the way she wants it to. His mentor meows she just strives to do what's right, and Jaypaw replies that she can't always do the right thing, even if she wishes to. He senses grief flood from Leafpool as she says she knows that, but she'll always try. Characters Major }} Minor *Lionpaw *Graystripe *Sorreltail *Mousewhisker *Cloudtail *Cinderpaw *Thornclaw *Brightheart *Birchfall *Poppypaw *Honeypaw *Sandstorm *Leafpool }} Mentioned *Millie *Dustpelt *Berrynose *Hazeltail }} Notes and references Category:Eclipse Category:Chapter subpages Category:Power of Three arc